The Adventures of Elliot The Millennium Tales | PC/STEAM | REVIEW

''AN ELLIOT TO THE PAST''

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Developed: Square-Enix

Published: Square-Enix

Genre: RPG

Release Date: June 18th, 2026

Platforms: PS5/Xbox Family/Nintendo Switch 2/STEAM

*Review copy provided to me by Square-Enix

The Adventures of Elliot The Millennium Tales is the latest H.D.-2.D. game to hit the scene, and it is developed and published by Square-Enix. With Square being on generational run in a similar fashion to Capcom due to releasing banger after banger, they have now decided its time for another H.D.-2.D. styled game to keep that streak going. However, is this another win collected by the company? or did they finally trip and fall after being on such a victorious run? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

''THE NEW STARGATE''

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GAMEPLAY:

With the H.D.-2.D. craze not stopping anytime soon between games like Octopath Traveler, Bravely Default, the Dragon Quest remakes and the much hyped soon to be released Final Fantasy Resonance being the first Final Fantasy game to be made in the H.D.-2.D. style, Square-Enix decided we need even more games in the same style, which honestly, can you blame them?. However I feel there is a risk to be had constantly going this route as well, because if you do too many games too fast using this same art style, the novelty is going to wear off eventually and you're going to oversaturate the market with games that start to feel ''exactly the same'' as all the rest of the H.D.-2.D. games - which its pretty much what Ubisoft games became for awhile and nearly every Call Of Duty entry... it just got old fast. Luckily Square so far has avoided this disaster, and while aesthetically, sure, the games can kind of lean towards the ''look the same route'', overall, what sets each apart from each other is their characters, world and environments, all of which feel different and varied from one another, similar to how Bubsy 3.D. is totally different than the recent Bubsy 4 release, but... in a good way? seriously? Bubsy 4 is good? how the hell did that manage to happen? the odds of that happening are same odds that say I have a shot at driving perfectly in a video game, so yeah, its like one in a million. Confusion about Bubsy aside, is Adventures of Elliot even good? well yeah, for the most part it is. With the current storied history of Team Asano and their meticulously crafted H.D.-2.D. games, Elliot on paper had a major task laid in front of it, which is to live up to that same standard in both quality and structure, and make sure that traditional turned based style, for a J.R.P.G, works perfectly hand in and hand synced with the H.D.-2.D. gameplay. How do they do this? simple, you gotta match the same energy that past games brought you via smooth movement, dynamic mapping, team strategies with newly recruited characters, and real time combat that keeps things at an energizing pace for your entire playthrough without ever feeling like a chore. Simple, right?. On paper, sure it is, but don't tell that to Star Fox Zero... which should've been a complete WIN, you know, on paper.. but we all saw how that turned out didnt we?. Dont worry, we'll be getting into that one very very soon in another review, trust me.

By blending the usual style of retro sprites with gorgeous lightning techniques, particle effects for the battles and environment and a more responsive camera, right from the get go, it starts doing its job at living up to its H.D.-2.D. stature. As the player, you follow a young hero named Elliot as he sets off in order to save Huther, which honestly, this place, doesn't have a history of what you or I would call a ''good time'', similar to people who own a P.S.5. Pro and have no games to play. Ohhhh, got em!. Ok relax, I'm just joking, P.S.5. Pro's are gonna fly off the shelves once G.T.A. 6 launches this holiday season... so that means P.S.5. Pro players only have 5 months left of no games. - OOHHHH GOT EM AGAIN. Seriously though, that was my last joke on on that I swear. Just like G.T.A. 6 will be your last GAM... - As you traverse the world as Elliot, you will learn more about the storied history of Huther, as well as battle against nasty beastmen and even magic infused tech that aims to wipe you and everyone else off the face of the earth and make it all fall into complete ruin and despair. Luckily, in the time Elliot resides in and champions, a spell of Safekeeping protects all who is under its spell within the city, which is conjured up and maintained by the mighty Princess Heuria, who gained the power that was passed down to her due to royalty, similar to the way Zelda inherits her powers and abilities in The Legend Of Zelda franchise. But just like in a lot of games lately, what do you think happens shortly after this? you already know right? obviously the spell screws up and starts weakening, thus giving enemies of the city reason to want to attack it. Because this has never happened before, Elliot sets off to find out just what in the hell has happened, and in doing so, we get another classic trope that is extremely overused nowadays in R.P.G's... and it is of course having to deal with time travel. Oh for the love of Doc Brown, time travel...again? I'm not going to call it lazy, but come on, it's such a cop out and cookie cutter thing to do - not EVERYTHING has to include time travel to make the world feel more diverse... but whatever, while it annoys me something fierce, it still doesn't disrupt the games overall fun factor that keeps you engaged, so, they get a pass there. Honestly this might be a Square-Enix trope because even their more modern 3.D. games are using the alternate timelines too, such as the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, so... someone at Square must've barely saw Back To The Future and are now obsessed with concept, that's the only explanation I possible have for this situation.

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''IM SO LOST''

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As I mentioned previously the game does share a similar theme as The Legend of Zelda thanks to Princess Heuria basically being this games Zelda, and honestly from a gameplay only perspective, Elliot in general draws a clear and extremely obvious inspiration from the Zelda series itself with its action adventure R.P.G. feel. I'm talking about the original Zelda game on Nintendo, we are NOT talking about The Adventure of Link, oh my god, no no no, please wipe that game from existence and burn it with fire. By wielding a large arsenal of weapons, items ,swords, spears, bows and even boomerangs, combat never gets dull and strategy maintains its key place in each battle scenario you encounter, especially with the ability to dual equip items at any given time, further allowing players to play their own way and find different ways to experiment, rather than just being stuck with one random weapon when it comes to combat. Using abilities, weapons, fairy companions and other objects also get you through the games world too when utilized properly. So um, you see where I'm going with this right? all these things I'm naming, even down to the dang fairy companion, very much screams Zelda... only these fairy companions dont scream every five seconds into your ear, ''HEY!'', ''LISTEN!'', ''WATCH OUT!'', which is good obviously, but still, its something were going to have to re-live later this year when the Ocarina Of Time remake releases, so I'm both hyped... but also terrified... and even dreading walking out into Hyrule Field too because of the horrors that await.. - yeah that's right, that DAMN Owl that lurks that makes you repeat the same dialogue all over again should you mess up and keep pressing the ''NO'' option. YOU BETTER CHANGE THAT NINTENDO. Wait on second thought, nope, DONT change it, let a new generation of kids feel my pain, I think they deserve it. Back on topic, using your weapons, you're able to bypass world obstacles like using bombs to destroy barriers and even hammers to clear objects and debris in your way, and pairing that with secret finding throughout the game, also gives it a tad pinch of Metroidvania for good measure as well, which makes exploration, even in an H.D.-2.D. title, feel rewarding do to things you find that can aid your journey like new accessories and even weapon upgrades, which is awesome.

There's just so much to find and discover that beyond the main storyline itself in the across time and across era jumping adventure, you might just find yourself exploring rather than trying to advance things further due to finding shrines in each era of the timeline you traverse in that can offer you anything from puzzles to solve, difficult boss fights, battle challenges and revisitable locations that stay fresh, even on the occasional revisit, should you choose to. This same holds true for side quests in the game, because come on now, do you really think Square-Enix of all people would create an R.P.G. WITHOUT side quests? yeah right. Side quests in the game are made easier to navigate thanks to the intuitive interface that gives more insights to other characters and their backstories, delves deeper into lore that could be crucial to understanding an event or person, or even tells you ''bro, go explore more, stop being lazy'', well.. I mean not in those exact words, but close enough. There's just so much to do beyond the combat and main story that it honestly feels like Square-Enix's most content heavy H.D.-2.D. game yet and that's saying a lot considering how robust recent games have been.

''SHUT UP NAVI, IM TRYING TO FIGHT''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, The Adventures of Elliot The Millennium Tales ends up fantastic time when its all said and done. Obviously there be can downsides to it for people that are tired of the H.D.-2.D. gimmick and its aesthetic, or even side quests that can feel a bit repeaty due to the nature of them being fetch quests or time limited to complete... but even so, with Zelda like R.P.G. mechanics with weapon use and world changing capabilities, engaging combat, beautiful soundtrack, interesting characters and storyline that while may seem cliche on its surface, ends up being much more than you originally anticipated - everything all together just makes Elliot a fantastic experience and definitely a must play for anyone lookin for their R.P.G. Fix. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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